OCtoolguy

I will once I get it cut out. The top has a hole in it about 9" in diameter. Very tricky to make sure I don't cut into the upper panel holder. I did that once on one of the small ones. If I EVER make another one of these, I have it all figured out how to do it differently. This one has been trial and error every step of the way. I ruined the first piece of walnut and as you can see, in order to save it, I did a glue up of two halves with biscuit joints. I now have to fill that little tiny hole that you can see in one picture. I bought some compounds that when mixed together make a stainable glue. I'm going to mix some up with the walnut fine dust and experiment. Or, I might just use some Watco oil in dark walnut to try to cover it up. I spend a lot of time fixing my screwups. Thanks for the compliment. I appreciate it.

I am finally getting somewhere with this never-ending project. I sort of wish I had never started it now. It's been a real tough one trying to get all the right circumference circles and making everything fit within the parameters of 10" wide walnut. I should have just bought a piece of 12" and milled it myself but I thought this would be the better way but trying to make all the pieces fit has been tough. Anyway, I finally have gotten to this point. I dry fitted it today and tomorrow, I'll start doing the decorative routing. Then, it's a matter of sanding, gluing and finishing. The side panels are really tight around their tops so I'm going to have to relieve them a bit so they will all fit but it's just a matter of sanding the inside edges. I'll sure be glad when it's done. I have so many other things that I'm anxious to start on.

I truly feel that the simplicity of the Hegner, Hawk, and PS machines lend themselves to very little problems with wear and tear. The other machines are all of the design of the Dewalt/Excalibur with many moving parts and bearings/sleeves and arms have many more opportunities for failure along with the motors and circuit boards. At some point, I will end up with another Hegner but the right deal has not presented itself yet.

Looking truly FINE Paul. I'm not there yet.

You are right about the longevity of the saws Kevin. Both the Hegner and the Hawk saws are promoted as "production" saws. As to the price I paid back in 85, if I recall correctly, with tax and all I paid about $600. I picked it up at the woodworking show in Colorado Springs and the sales tax at that time was 6%. It was a 2 speed saw that required moving a belt from one groove to another on the pulleys. And it was a tedious operation to change blades. I think that might have been the turnoff for me and why I never really "wanted" to use the saw. When compared to the newer/newest Hawks, it's quite a bit of improvements over the 35 years. But, I think a lot of the original parts might still be common on the different models over the years. There is really no reason for this manufacturer/seller to not make money on these saws. They just have to make up their minds to whether they WANT to be in the scroll saw business or not. The marketing side takes care of itself. All they have to do is get busy and MAKE the darn things and keep up with parts and production. It's a shame to see such a fine product being so badly managed.

Thanks J.T. I hope they get their stuff together too. My first scroll saw back in 1985 was a RBI Hawk. I never really used it and ended up selling it to my neighbor who still has it. It now lives in Tennessee. When I bought it, I really had no idea what I was going to use it for but I just knew I wanted one. It sat in my garage for a long time. My point though is this, the saws have not changed all that much over the years but the things that did change weren't done to cheapen the saws. They were definite upgrades and improvements. It's a shame that the owners of the company were never able to make money with the product. I hope that at some point the owners, whoever they may be, will find a way to make this saw profitable and keep the great product moving forward. The notice from Bushton that you quoted gives us all hope that they will find a way to separate the Hawk Mfg. from their farming operation. I have my own feelings about how to go about it but I am not them. I only want to wish them the best of luck and hope they are able to make a go of it.

That's true. But when you sell them and have a truck full, you tend to "acquire" things that you might not ordinarily buy. I still have a $300 torque wrench that I "acquired" just for tightening the lug bolts on our 5th wheel trailer. I'll never use it. Anybody need one? I'll make them a good deal.

I used to have all that stuff but when we sold out, I got rid of everything that I didn't use a lot. My roll pin punch set went. But, I do have a nice set of punches.

J.T., how tough of a job would it be to replace the roll pins with still pins? I have 3 blade holders and so far none have been used enough to have worn/bent them. But, if it becomes a problem, I think I'll substitute a solid pin in place of the roll pin. Waddayathink?

Don't let "perfect" get in the way of GREAT!

So far, the best purchase that I have made, other than my saws, is the Ridgid drum/belt sander. That thing is just plain awesome. I wish I had room to leave it set up all the time but, alas, it's not to be.

I don't do or plan to do any intarsia/segmentation at this time but I was just wondering about them. I don't know if they would be beneficial to what I make or not. At this time, I just use the old tried and true method of manual labor.

Thanks Melanie, yes, I was referring to the inflatable type. I know the small ones that fit in a drill or drill press require a small hand pump but I wasn't sure if the larger ones accepted a typical air compressor tire filler.

I've never seen or used one of these. How do you inflate them? Air compressor or tire pump or is there some special type of pump needed?

I know that I would not feel comfortable trying to do that cut on my Hawk. At least not yet. My comfort zone is on my EX. I was just wondering which of your saws was your most comfortable to you.

Paul, what saw are you using? Just curious with all that fine detail. It's truly beautiful.

Wow! That's all I can say. Those are some pretty impressive letters for sure. I regularly cut 1 3/4 " and have no problem with my EX21.

Sammy, it's nice to see you back on the Village. I hope all is going well. And yes, you made a wise purchase on those clamps. Stay in touch. R

This is EXACTLY why I posted a while back about posting your location. It's impossible to advise anybody on anything without knowing where you are.

Frank, as much as I like the look of the zebra wood, in my estimation, the two dragons get sort of lost in it. It looks great, don't get me wrong but I think a light colored, single color background really makes them pop out.

I really do like your examples and yes, the black is the best. And you are right, someone will suggest "heliotrope" I'm sure.

On your example, I agree. But not on Frank's.

I think something bright as a background brings out the dragons a lot more. Maybe a shade of yellow.

Make sure you clean the crud off your shoe soles so you don't "crud up" your sanding sleeves. I did try using my shoe on my sanding mop but when I laid on the floor I couldn't get my foot up high enough to reach my drill press. Too high.

I'm so happy to hear that things might be settling down for you folks. You've had a bad run of it for sure. My heart breaks over the loss of wildlife and people's homes. Glad to hear you're safe.